Overview
Next Upcoming Date:
Saturday, August 16, 2025
The month of August’s Friends of Folk Coffeehouse looks a little different as it gives Folk Hero contestants a chance to enter the competition in person, and have the audience vote for who gets to compete in the final round at the Delmarva Folk Festival in October.
Members $7 non members $10. Teens are half price, and those 12 and under are free.
Sign-up begins at 7 p.m. (no fee for performers). Three finalists will be selected by audience vote.
Location -The Dover Art League 21 W. Loockerman St Dover, Delaware 19901
Three artists from each round will be selected compete in person ( six in total), on stage at the Delmarva Folk Festival.
Bands may include up to 5 people that use traditional instruments and light percussion with no more than a 3 piece drum kit (bass drum, snare and symbols or something similar).
The final round is held Oct. 17, 2025 on the main stage of the Delmarva Folk Festival at G & R Campground, Houston, Del. The event begins at 7p.m.
The Folk Hero winner will be selected by audience vote.
Invite your friends and family to come out and support you!
Coffee House tickets- $5 for members and $7 for non members .
Admission for the 2025 Festival finals is $10. (No admission fee for artist & 1 guest)
Teens are half-price, 12 and under are admitted free.
2025 Folk Hero Winner will receive:
A paid festival set of $150.00 on the Main Stage the following day (Saturday).
A dedicated page on our website, www.delfolk.org, promoting the winning artist & their social media.
All finalists will receive 1 guest pass for the final round with entry to the festival for Friday and Saturday for you and a guest.
Camping not included with the exception of the Folk Hero winner in our artist camping area.
A 1 year membership for Delaware Friends of Folk events.
$150 to host the following years Folk Hero Finals
RULES AND GUIDELINES
Coffee House Preliminary Rounds
Anyone is eligible to try out, with the exception of performers who have been paid to play for a Delaware Friends of Folk event.
Candidates should be solo through 5 performers.
Three piece drum kits, percussion and folk rhythm instruments are welcome.
Your performance time is 15 to 20 minutes, based on the number of competing acts. We suggest you have 4 or 5 pieces prepared.
Your set-up time is included in your performance time.
Original music is encouraged but we ask you keep to genres such as Folk (traditional, new, or “singer songwriter”), Bluegrass, Blues, Celtic, Jazz, Indie, Americana, New Age, World, Old-Time, Roots, Story-telling.
If a candidate is selected as a finalist, NO additional performers may be added to the candidate’s act for the Folk Hero Finals at the Festival. In the event a selected performer(s) cannot participate, the act may still perform but with fewer members.
If a candidate is not selected as a Finalist at the July Coffee House round, that candidate is free to sign up and perform at the August Coffee House round.
***Please note that camping is not included unless you are selected to perform Saturday morning.
The Board will review the ballots cast and will use them to determine the finalists and to help make programming decisions at the finals. The Board does not anticipate overruling the audience vote, but reserves the right to do so.
Please contact [email protected] with any questions or to sign up ahead of time.
click here to submit an entry online (deadline is July 20, 2025)
